The Surreal Hourglass

“The Surreal Hourglass”
The surreal hourglass is represented in my portfolio. I like my work to take the viewer to a place that is familiar, but also removed from reality; to take the ordinary and breathe a new life and meaning into it. There is opposition and harmony; the passage of time in each piece can stand still or be an endless cycle. When I take a picture, I often think about an idea I am trying to convey and through a combination of the image and my technical skills, I bring about the visualization of my idea.
This philosophy was adopted in 1975 when I created “Expression” which shows many individual eyes and facial structures with different emotions expressed in them: fear, calmness, kindness, happiness, etc. The smaller pieces make up a greater image, the face of man, which represents the many feelings and emotions one person can experience in life.
In “Autumn Cubes” the viewer is presented with the colorful and organic beauty of nature at a fleeting moment, when it is changing, and that beauty is packaged into a very mechanical, geometric object on an assembly line. The literal gift of nature is passing by the viewer. “Melting Fragrance” is the visualization of the scent shown by the flower melting outwards. It is turning into a mixture of the petals and the aroma that we enjoy flowers for.
“In Frame” represents liberation from the artificial. The woman is growing out of the golden frame, from luxury. The tree is growing with her and breaking the frame to return to a place more natural.
“The Witness” shows the sides of a rust covered tin shelter overgrown with vines symbolizing deterioration and rebirth. A pair of eyes looks through the rusted gaps to witness the cycle of time. In “Towards the Sea,” two “end” signs are shown and the blockage is literally opened like two doors as the waters of life enter to relieve the barren land. It gives hope that life will go on over time.
A smile, a branch, a flower, a window, I look to my everyday surroundings to find my inspiration. My objective with my work is to take things that are often ordinary, and to express complex ideas through them, because true beauty lies in the simplicity and elegance of our surroundings that we too often overlook.